The tattoo and piercing parlor that J-S happened to pause in front of was called Let It Bleed, and was actually a pretty reputable establishment. It wasn't massive, and only had five full-time artists, but the quality of work was well-known.
A little unknown was Chad, who had only been at this specific shop for a few months. Before that, he had done piercings in a few mall shops, and worked odd jobs. Actually, his life leading up to this very moment had a long, drawn out story that needs more than one post.
A fifteen year old girl who had just received her first tongue piercing with the permission of her mom walked out first, and a second later, Chad popped out with a soft sigh. His hair was a little messy, and he had a nice shadow of stubble running along his jaw. He had a cigarette in his hand, but upon groping several pockets, couldn't find a lighter.
The image of setting it on the desk inside flashed in his mind, but he saw J-S there with a lit cigarette and instead of going all the way back in...
"Hey, could I trouble you for a light?"
Now, Chad was a masculine guy. Nothing right off would tell you that he was gay, but he did have a gentle tone to his voice, and he may have checked J-S out with his first cursory glance.